Method and apparatus for producing assemblies of hinged-together panels



. m. @HL w. 3 1 "t, 5 6 ...w RK Y 3, e N @A mm. |m\| m 9 s o wm. T 2,3 m A sw mf Q Qm m0 m m mm r HIM MKM m 2 Q I s m l ws .S l will l f mm o@ RWM .vm JDP QG l W am@ W. PH nAnpOnm @m\\ AMW wFw .s Nmm mm @m S mm D.. Vi A o D 3 3. N @HHH w 3 mm @man S w @d m A 1 n# i WF1 0 w... 6 9 l 1 5 H v. H H| 1, m .w 11| w. m .l N F (Nm m EDY R` N. WARE, JR 2,958,363 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING AssEMBLIEs oF mmm-TOGETHER PANELs Filed May 31, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 l INVENTOR RICHARD N. WAKJK. @a r ATTORNEY5 EDY f METHD AND APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING ASSEMBES 0F HlNGED-TGETHER PANELS Richard N. Ware, Jr., Tallulah, La., assignor to Chicago Mill and Lumber Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Filed May 31, 1955, Ser. No. 511,968

9 Claims. (Cl. 15d-1.6)

This invention relates to box reinforcing structures and methods and apparatus for making the same, and more particularly to assemblies of paper-covered wood veneering panels arranged to form box wall structures or the like and to methods and apparatus for making such assemblies.

In the practice of this invention, an assembly of hingedtogether panels is formed by adhesively securing wood vencering strips in generally parallel relation on one surface of a sheet of paper, and such sheet of paper together with the wood strips secured thereto may be disposed in a box with the panel sections forming wall structures of the box. In one preferred embodiment, the panel sections form a bottom wall of the box, a pair of side walls of the box and a pair of top flap sections hinged to the top edges of the side wall panel sections for movement between open positions and closed positions in which the distal edges of such ilap sections are in abutting relation. in another preferred embodiment, the paper sheet together with the wood strips secured thereto is in four sections forming side wall structures of the box with the edges of the end sections being adjacent each other at one corner of the box. This structure may be disposed in an ordinary cardboard box with the wood veneering strips functioning to provide greatly increased stacking strength.

it might be here noted that although a single sheet of paper can be used, it is generally preferable to use a pair of sheets of paper with the wood veneering strips secured therebetween.

According to an important feature of the invention, `assemblies of hinged-together panels are produced by adhesively securing wood veneering strips in generally parallel relation on one surface of a sheet of` paper and severing the resultant structure in a plane normal` to 'the sheet and intermediate the edges of one of the strips with one portion of such one of the strips forming `a part of one panel assembly and with the other part of such strip forming a part of another panel assembly. In this way, there is no waste of material and, perhaps more important, the cutting` of the structure is always through both the paper and a wood strip with the strip acting as a support for the severing of the paper, so that a clean cut is reliably obtained.

A further advantage is that the edge of the paper is flush with the edge of a wood strip to minimize the possibility of severance of the paper from the wood strip.

Still another advantage is that the edge of the paper, being flush with the edge of the wood strip, can readily abut a like edge, which is particularly important in the embodiment in which the end sections of the reinforced paper form top flaps for a box.

According to a further feature of the invention, an elongated strip of paper is fed in the direction of its length, and the wood veneering strips are adhesively secured along one surface of the paper strip in a certain pattern (according to the desired form of the box wall structure) in synchronism with the feed of the paper strip, and the resultant structure is severed in synchronism with the feed of the paper strip. Accordingly, the hinged-together panel assemblies are produced in a continuous operation.

Another feature of the invention is in a machine for automatically producing the panel assemblies which may include means for releasing a wood veneering strip from a stack thereof, means for feeding an elongated strip of paper, means for receiving strips from such release means and adhesively securing the same on one surface of the paper strip, with control means for effecting operation of the release means in a certain pattern and with means for effecting synchronized operation of the control means and the paper feed means.

In accordance with a further feature, cut-ting means are provided for severing the paper with the wood strip secured thereto, and such cutting means .are operated in synchronism with the control means and the paper feed means.

The means for releasing and feeding the wood strips preferably comprises a conveyor belt arranged to support a stack of the strips, first stop means `for limiting movement of all but the lowermost strip of the stack, second stop means spaced in the direction of travel of the belt from the first stop ymeans and arranged for limiting movement of the lowermost strip with means for releasing the lowermost strip from the second stop means for travel with the belt. The release means may preferably comprise a solenoid-operated device for moving the forward edge of the lowermost strip downwardly out of the path of such second stop means.

lt should be noted that this supportV and release means for the wood strips is of particular advantage because the strips can be released in any desired pattern, and the release may be effected in synchronism with the drive of the conveyor belt as well as the paper feed and the cutter.

An object of this invention, accordingly, is to provide an improved method of producing paper-covered wood veneering panels.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved method of producing assemblies of hinged-together panels for forming box wall structures or the like.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved machine for producing paper-covered wood veneering panels and assemblies thereof.

A still further object of this invention is to provide improved paper-covered wood veneering panel arrangements for box wall structures or the like.

This invention contemplates other and more specific objects, features and advantages which will become more fully apparent `from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying` drawings which illustrate preferred embodiments and in which:

Figure l is a front perspective View of a box utilizing a paper-covered wood veneering panel assembly of this invention;

Figure 2 is a top plan view illustrating the manner of constructing the panel assembly used in the box of Figure l;

Figure 3 is a perspective View looking. downwardly into a box utilizing a paper-covered wood veneering panel assembly of this invention;

Figure 4 is a top plan view illustrating the manner of constructing the panel assembly used in the box of Figure 3,; and

Figure 5 is a diagrammatic side elevational view of aV machine constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention.

Reference numeral 10` generally designates a box of rectangular form which includes a front end wall 11, a rear end wall 12 and a panel assembly 13 constructed according to the principles of this invention, the assembly 13 including a bottom wall section 14, a pair of side wall Sections and 16 and a pair of flap sections 17 and 18 hinged to the top edges of the side wall sections 15 and 16, the flap sections 17 and 18 being movable between an open position and a closed position in which distal edges 19 and 20 thereof are disposed in abutting relation.

The panel assembly 13 of this invention comprises a pair of sheets of paper 21 and 22 with a plurality of wood veneernig strips adhesively secured therebetween. In particular, the ap section 17 may include wood strips 23 and 24; the side wall section 15 may include wood strips 25 and 26; the bottom wall section 14 may include strips 27, 28 and 29; the side wall section 16 may include wood strips 30 and 31; and the ap section 18 may include wood strips 32 and 33.

It will be appreciated that the panel assembly 13 may be readily installed on the box 10 with the wood strips 23-33 serving to rigidify the box, the paper sheets 21 and 22 serving to further strengthen the box and also serving as a means hingedly connecting the panels of the assembly 13.

An important feature of the box 10 is that the edges of the paper sheets 21 and 22 are ilush with the edges of the wood strips 23 and 33 at the distal edges 19 and 20 of the ilaps 17 and 18 so that both the paper and the wood abuts to close the box, and the possibility of severance of the edges of the paper sheets from the wood strips is minimized.

Figure 2 illustrates a manner of producing panel assemblies such as the assembly 13 used in the box of Figure l. In particular, a plurality of wood veneering strips, such as strips 36-47 are disposed in spaced parallel relation and are adhesively secured between a pair of elongated strips 49 and 50 of paper. The resultant structure is severed in spaced parallel planes normal to the sheets 49, 50, a pair of such planes being indicated by broken lines 51 and 52. In accordance with this invention, such planes are located intermediate the side edges of certain ones of the strips, so that the paper and such strips are severed in a single operation with the strip supporting the paper during cutting. In particular, the cutting plane 51 is located intermediate the edges of the wood strip 36 and the cutting plane 52 is located intermediate the edges of the strip 46. The structure intermediate the cutting planes 51 and 52 forms a foldable panel structure such as the assembly 13 of Figure l. The portion of the strip 36 to the right of the cutting plane 51 corresponds to the strip 23 of the assembly 13; the strips 37-45 correspond to the strips 24-32, respectively, of the assembly 13; and the portion of the strip 46 to the left of the cutting plane 52 corresponds to the strip 33 of the assembly 13.

The portion of the strip 36 to the left of the cutting plane 51, of course, forms a strip of another assembly corresponding to the strip 33 of the assembly 13, and the portion of the strip 46 to the right of the cutting plane 52 similarly forms a strip of a third assembly corresponding to the strip 23 of the assembly 13. It will, accordingly, be appreciated that with this manner of construction, assemblies of hinged-together panels may be formed in a more or less continuous operation.

In Figure 3, reference numeral 53 designates a conventional cardboard box which includes a bottom wall 54 and a top formed by four aps 55, 56, 57 and 58. To strengthen the box 53 and especially to provide greatly increased stacking strength, a panel assembly 59 is disposed in the box 53. The panel assembly 59 comprises four hinged-together sections 60, 61, 62 and 63 disposed against the inside surfaces of the side walls of the box 53, the end sections 60 and 63 having edges 64 and 65 adjacent each other at one comer of the box.

The assembly 59 is similar to the assembly 13 of Figure 1 and comprises inner and outer paper sheets 66 and 67 with wood veneering strips adhesively secured therebetween; Inparticular, the panel section 60 includes a strip 68, the panel section 61 includes a strip 69, the panel section 62 includes a strip 70 and the panel section 63 includes a strip 71.

It will be appreciated that with this arrangement, the panel assembly 59 may be readily disposed within the box 53 to strengthen the same and particularly to provide greatly increased stacking strength. In accordance with this invention, the edges of the paper sheets `66, 67 are cut off llush with the wood strips 68, 71 at the edges 64, 65

of the end sections 60 and 63.

To form panel assemblies such as the assembly 59 of Figure 3, wood veneering strips such as strips 72, 73, 74,

Y '75, 76 and 7'7 are disposed in parallel spaced relation and adhesively secured between a pair of paper strips 78 and 79, and the resulting structure is severed in planes normal to the sheets 78, 79, a pair of such cutting planes being indicated by broken lines 80 and 81. The structure between such cutting planes forms one panel assembly such as the assembly 59 of Figure 3. In particular, the portion of the wood strip 73 to the right of the cutting plane 80 forms a strip corresponding to the strip 68 of the assembly 59; the strips 74 and 75 correspond to the strips 69 and 78 of the assembly 59 and the portion of the strip 76 to the left of the cutting plane 81 corresponds to the strip 71 of the assembly 59. The portion of the strip 73 to the left of the cutting plane 80 and the portion of the strip 76 to the right of the cutting plane 81 form portions of other similar assemblies.

It will be appreciated that with this arrangement, there is no waste of material and the severing of the paper always takes place in the same operation as the cutting of a wood strip so that such strip olers support fo-r the v cutting of the paper, to thus achieve a clean cut and promote a reliable cutting operation.

Referring now to Figure 5, reference numeral 82 generally designates a machine for automatically producing assemblies such as the assemblies 13 and 59 above described. In the machine 82, a continuous conveyor belt 83 is trained about a drive roller 84 (and about another roller or rollers, not shown) and the belt 83 is arranged to support a stack of wood veneering strips 85, a platform 86 being preferably disposed underneath the portion of the belt 83 that is disposed under the stack 85, to provide additional support for the belt. An inclined plate 87 is disposed with its lower end spaced above the belt 83 a distance slightly greater than the thickness of one of the wood strips but less than twice such thickness, so as to provide a means limiting movement of all but the lowermost strip of the stack 85.

From frictional engagement with the belt 83, the lowermost strip is carried forwardly by the belt to a position in which the forward end thereof engages a stop defined by the lower end portion of a plate 88 and the lowermost strip will remain in such position until released, the frictional engagement between the belt 83 and the lowermost wood strip being small enough to allow continued drive of the belt 83.

To release the lowermost strip, the stop dened by the plate 88 might be moved out of the path of such strip, but preferably, the forward end of the strip is deflected out of the path of the stop -by means of a shoe 89. The shoe 89 is secured on the lower end of a vertical rod 90 which is journalled for vertical movement in a lug 91 secured to the plate 88. The upper end of the rod 90 carried an `armature 92 of magnetic material movable in a solenoid 93 secured to the plate spring 94 acting between the lug 91 and a stop on rod 90. When the solenoid 93 is energized, the armature 92 will be moved downwardly against the action of the spring 94 to cause the shoe 89 to strike the forward end portion of the lowermost strip of the stack and move the same below the lower end of the plate 88 so as to allow such lower- 'most strip to be carried forwardly by the conveyor it is disposed between a pair of paper strips 95 and 96 which are fed from rolls 97 and 98 past adhesiveapplying rollers 99 and 100 and about a pair of rollers 101 and 102 which serve to press the adhesive-carrying surfaces of the strips 95 and 96 into pressure contact with the opposite surfaces of the wood strips.

The paper strips 95 and 96 with the wood strips secured therebetween are fed from the rollers 101 and 102 between a first pair of pressure rollers 103 and 104, a second pair of rollers 105 and 106 and a third pair of rollers 107 and 108 `and thence between other rollers if desired. Such rollers serve to press the paper rmly into engagement with the wood strips and the diameters and drive speeds thereof may be such as to slightly tension the structure.

Between the rollers 105 and 106 and the rollers 107 and 108, a cutter generally designated by reference numeral 109 is provided for severing the strips in a plane normal thereto. The cutter 109 preferably comprises a pair of shears including a shear 110 supported in fixed position on the underside of the path of travel of the strips and a movable shear 111 actuatable from a position on the upper side of the path of travel of the strips downwardly -across the fixed shear 110 to sever the strips. The shear 111 may be guided for vertical rectilinear movement in suitable ways (not shown) and may be connected through a connecting rod 112 to an eccentric 113. The eccentric 113 is coupled to a belt 114 to a onerevolution clutch device 115 driven by an electric motor 116, or by any suitable source. The one-revolution clutch device 115 is of a type known in the art and arranged to be electrically tripped to cause drive of the eccentric 113 through` one revolution and effect a complete cycle of movement of the shear 111.

Means are provided for releasing the wood panels from the stack 85 according to a certain pattern determined by the type of panel assembly to be produced. In particular, one terminal of the solenoid 93 is connected through a conductor 117 to one terminal of a suitable source of electricity such as a battery 118, the other terminal of the solenoid 93 being connected through a conductor 119 to a switch blade 120 which carries a contact 121 engageable with a contact 122 of a second switch blade 123 connected through a conductor 123a to the other terminal of the battery 118.

The switch blades 120, 123 may be so biased that the contacts 121 and 122 are normally disengaged and the switch blade 123 carries a button 124 in the path of lobes 125 of a cam plate 126. When a lobe 125 engages the button 124, the contact 122 will be engaged with the contact 121 to complete a circuit through the solenoid 93 and cause the armature 92 to move downwardly to cause the shoe 89 to strike the forward end portion of the lowermost wood strip of the stack 85 and release the same for movement forwardly by the conveyor belt 83.

It may be noted that the cam plate 126 illustrated is particularly designed for a panel assembly such as the assembly 13 of Figure 1, and the spacings of the lobes 125 are varied to produce the desired pattern. In this connection, it should be noted that the cam plate 126, the drive roller 84 for the conveyor belt 83 and the drive rollers 101--108 for the paper strips 95, 96 are preferably all driven from a common drive source 127, as diagrammatically indicated by dotted lines.

Means are also preferably provided for actuating the cutter 109 in synchronism with the release of the wood strips from the stack 85. For this purpose, -a cam disk 128 is secured to the carn disk 126 for rotation therewith, the disk 128 having a single lobe 129 arranged to engage an actuating button 130 of a switch blade 131 which carries a contact 132 engageable with -a contact 133 carried by a second switch blade 134. The contacts 132, 133 are normally disengaged but are engaged when the cam lobe 129 strikes the actuating button 130. The switch blades 131 and 134 are connected through conductors 135 and 136 to the one-revolution clutch device so that at a certain point in each revolution of the cam disk 128 the clutch 115 will be tripped to cause the shear 111 to move through one complete cycle of movement.

It should be noted that the wood veneering strips are preferably of natural wood but other materials of similar properties could be used and are intended to be covered.

It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the novel concepts of this invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a method of producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels, the steps of adhesively securing wood veneering strips in generally parallel relation on one surface of a sheet of paper, and severing the resultant structure in a plane normal to the sheet and intermediate the edges of one of lthe strips with one portion of such one of the strips forming a part of one panel assembly and with the other part of such -strip forming part of another panel assembly.

2. In a method of producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels for forming box wall structures, the steps of feeding a strip of paper in a certain path, adhesively securing wood veneering strips along one surface of the paper strip, and severing the resultant structure in parallel planes normal to the paper strip and spaced along its length with a plurality of wood strips lying between such planes and with each of such planes being intermediate the edges of a wood strip.

3. In a method of producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels for forming box wall structures, the steps of feeding an elongated strip of paper in the direction of its length, adhesively securing wood veneering strips along one surface of the paper strip in a certain pattern in synchronism with the feed of the strip, and severing the resultant structure in synchronism with the feed of the paper and in parallel planes norma-l -to the paper strip and spaced along its length with a -plurality of wood strips lying between such planes and with each of such planes being intermediate the edges of a wood strip.

4. In a machine for producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels, means for `adhesively securing wood veneering strips in generally parallel relation on one surface of a sheet of paper, and means for severing the resultant structure in a plane normal to the sheet and intermediate the edges of one of the strips with one portion of such one of the strips forming a part of one panel assembly and with the other part of such strip forming part of another panel assembly.

5. In a machine for producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels for forming box wall structures, means for feeding a strip of paper in a certain path, means for adhesively securing wood veneering strips along one surface of the paper strip, and means for severing the resultant structure in parallel planes normal to the paper strip and spaced along its length with a plurality of wood strips lying between the planes and with each plane being intermediate the edges of a wood strip.

6. In a machine for producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels for forming box wall structures, means for feeding an elongated strip of paper in the direction of its length, means for adhesively securing wood veneering strips along one surface of the paper strip in a certain pattern in synchronism with the feed of the strip, and means for severing the resultant structure in synchronism with the feed of the paper and in parallel planes normal to the paper strip and spaced allong its length with a plurality of wood strips lying between such planes and with each of such planes being intermediate the edges of a wood strip.

7. In a machine for producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels for forming box wall structures, support means for a stack of wood strips, release means for releasing a wood strip from said support means, means for feeding an elongated strip of paper, means for receiving wood strips from said release means and adhesively securing lthe same on one surface of the paper strip, cutting means for severing the resulting structure in a plane normal to the paper strip, control means for effecting operation of said release means in a certain pattern, and means for eecting synchronized operation of said control means, said cutting means and said paper feed means, said cutting means being so synchronized with said control means as to cut said resultant structure only at a plane intermediate the edges of a wood strip.

8. In a machine -for producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels for forming box wall structures, a conveyor belt -arranged to support a stack of wood veneering strips, rst stop means for limiting movement of all but the lowermost wood strip of the stack, second stop means spaced in the direction of movement of the belt from said irst stop -means and arranged for limiting movement of the llowermost wood strip, means for releasing the lowermost wood strip from said second stop means for travel with said belt, means for feeding an elongated strip of paper in the direction of its length, means for receiving wood strips from said conveyor belt and adhesively securing `the same on one Surface of the paper strip, cutting means for severing the resultant structure in a plane normal to the paper strip, control means for effecting operation of said release means in a certain pattern, and means for effecting operation of said control means, said conveyor belt, said cutting means and said paper feeding means in synchronism, Said cutting means being so synchronized with said control means as to cut said resultant structure only at a plane intermediate the edges of a wood strip.

9. In a machine for producing assemblies of hingedtogether panels for forming four sides of a box, means for feeding Van elongated strip of paper in the direction of its length, means operated in synchronism withY said paper-feeding means for applying groups of wood strips to said paper, each of said groups including a plurality of Wood strips applied along the length of the paper in side-by-side relation Iwith spacings provided between strips at certain points to ultimately allow right angle bends for formation of box corners, and cutting means operated in synchronized relation to the application of said groups to said paper for transversely severing the resultant structure, said cutting means being so controlled as to sever one strip of each group along a plane intermediate its edges to thereby `divide said one strip into two parts, one part being `arranged to form the last strip of one assembly of hinged-together panels and the other part arranged to form the first strip of the next assembly of hinged-together panels.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,259,968 Edwards Mar. 19, 1918 1,427,971 Porter Sept. 5, 1922 1,915,690 Nichols June 27, 1933 1,991,071 Babcock Feb. 12, 1935 2,254,394 Ratley et al. Sept. 2, 1941 2,291,650 Robinson Aug. 4, 1942 2,291,651 Robinson Aug. 4, 1942 2,323,105 Welch June 29, 1943 2,442,115 Byers et al. May 25, 1948 2,520,303 Bauer Aug. 29, 1950 2,545,603 Byers et al. Mar. 20, 1951 2,719,808 Elmendorf Oct. 4, 1955 2,744,046 Ware et al. May 1, 1956 2,744,551 Burkholder May 8, 1956 2,758,739 Burkholder Aug. 14, 1956 2,772,717 Ware Dec. 4, 1956 2,822,840 Reynolds et al. Feb. 11, 1958 

